Five things to watch in Preds-Canucks series

Not-so-shining twine minders

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Vancouver's Roberto Luongo and Nashville's Pekka Rinne are two of the three finalists for the Vezina Trophy (the other is Boston's Tim Thomas). However, the duo in this series haven't been on form so far in the playoffs.

Luongo exorcised some demons by holding strong enough to win Game 7 against Chicago, but that came on the heels of a pair of disappointing starts and then a relief appearance in which he lost Game 6 in overtime, in part due to a bad rebound.

Rinne struggled, by his standards, in the opening round with a 3.29 goals-against average and .876 save percentage in the six-game series win over Anaheim.

Both are usually better than they've been. We'll see who can be first to elevate his game.Heavy metal series

Not only is this a showdown between two of the three Vezina finalists in Rinne and Luongo, but there are others in line to scoop up some end-of-season hardware.

Nashville's Shea Weber is a finalist for the Norris Trophy as the top defenceman, while Vancouver's Ryan Kesler is a finalist for the Selke Trophy as the top defensive forward.

Plus, you can bet Daniel Sedin is the front-runner to win the Hart Trophy as the player most valuable to his team.

That kind of talent should make for an entertaining series.

All of those players are likely candidates for the first and second all-star teams, too.They'll have a chance to get reacquainted at the awards ceremony in Las Vegas.

Sedins not so super

Daniel Sedin, whose name will be engraved on the Art Ross Trophy for leading the league in scoring during the regular season, didn't have the first-round series you'd expect.

Or did he. When the dust settled, he had five goals and seven points in seven games to lead the Canucks.

Henrik Sedin mustered five assists against the Blackhawks.

All those who want to say they didn't perform in the series don't quite have as much ammunition as they think, but the Sedin twins weren't factors in the final four games and must get their game back on track.

We knew the Blackhawks, especially David Bolland, would find a way to do a strong defensive job on the Sedins, but this is uncharted territory against the Predators. Watch for plenty of Weber and Ryan Suter when the Sedins are on the ice.

Beware the Tootoo Train

For a guy known mainly as an agitator, Nashville's Jordin Tootoo sure showed another side to his game against the Anaheim Ducks.

Tootoo, who, funny enough, had 22 penalty minutes in the six-game victory over the Ducks, also netted one goal and five points. He was instrumental, especially in the final couple of wins. He not only scored a clutch goal but also set up a few other key tallies, including Jerred Smithson's overtime winner in Game 5.

Tootoo still can get under guys' skin, but has become a different player since his stint in the league's substance abuse and behavioural health program.

Mike Fisher makes his mark

No matter how you slice it, Mike Fisher's performance in Nashville after being traded from Ottawa wasn't near expectations. Fisher, who was dealt for a first-round pick and a conditional draft choice, had just five goals and 12 points in 27 regular-season games for the Preds.

He's had a bigger impact in the playoffs. Against the Ducks, Fisher collected three goals and six points in six games. One of his tallies was a game-winner.

He'll likely be on the hook for some checking duty against the Sedin line.